Chapter 110: Merging In

Five families, with children aged nine and above, including newly grown-up teenagers like Lu Sanlang and Zhou Sanlang, were not left out. Shen Lie and the other four who had returned from outside were considered instructors, naturally not excluded. In addition to those running stalls, those accompanying their wives to run stalls, and those who wanted to practice and prepare, there were quite a lot of people.

The activity was indeed larger than usual, but with the supervision of the adults at home, it was manageable. Everyone knew to keep quiet as much as possible. Except for those going to pick up tofu, the rest quietly gathered on a mountain path not far from the village, which was the same path Sang Luo and the others took home.

When Sang Luo and Shen Lie’s family came out of the small path, what they saw under the firelight was a crowd of people. Uncles like Shi Erlang were all there, from the already married Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang to the youngest Zhou Wulang. They were all present, including the five brothers, and with the women running stalls, there were at least thirty people.

Zhou Dalang felt a bit embarrassed. “They said it’s for the children to learn, but we thought since we’re not any better than Sanlang, Shilang, and Wulang in survival skills, we’ll come and learn too.”

Shi Erlang also smiled. “I’m also considered one. We can’t rely on our nephews to protect our families once we enter the woods.”

Shen Lie laughed. “That’s a good thing. Going out for a run in the morning is to first exercise, and when it’s a bit brighter, we’ll pick up the pace. This training is for the future, for the physical strength, endurance, and speed needed for walking in the mountains.”

Qin Fangniang and the others watched and smiled. They didn’t know how the children were trained, but they had to hurry to the county with Chen Youtian and the others. They set off first with a torch, leaving Sang Luo behind, waving goodbye to Shen An and Shen Ning, and followed Qin Fangniang’s group.

They didn’t know what Shen Lie and the others were busy with behind, but they only walked a short distance before the others caught up. Although the group was noisy due to the large number of people, when Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang looked back, it seemed quite organized.

This group of children had spent quite some time listening to the rules and techniques explained by Shen Lie and Chen Dashan. Now that they caught up with Qin Fangniang’s group, they were all cheerful, calling their mothers and aunts, and even mixed with the excited figures of Shen An and Shen Ning calling “sister-in-law”, making it very lively.

Shen Lie didn’t bother to restrain them. It was the first day, and it wasn’t really military training. He let them be.

The children’s corps didn’t really run all the way to the county. Being caught by the city guards in the county wasn’t fun. They only ran to Sanli Village before turning back, completing a round trip and returning to the village for other training tasks.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan ran back with their teams. When they met Sang Luo’s group again, they handed over the children’s corps to Shi Dalang and Lu Erlang, who would go to the county with Sang Luo’s group.

Qin Fangniang was puzzled. “Is it time to go to the county?”

They needed to buy supplies until mid-afternoon.

Chen Dashan smiled. “We’re buying bowstrings. When we get back, we’ll make slingshots for the children.”

The bowstrings at this time were made from processed materials like silk, cow tendons, and fish glue, which they couldn’t make themselves, so they had to buy them from specialized shops in the county.

Qin Fangniang understood now.

Mrs. Gan asked, “Did Uncle Shi give you the money? If not, let me know how much it costs, and I’ll give it to you.”

This item wasn’t cheap. The headbands used by women and children were made of the same material, but of much lower quality, yet they were still expensive. The bowstrings designated for slingshots were even more expensive.

Shen Lie smiled. “All the money has been given.”

Each family had a set amount based on the number of children. They had already given the money yesterday, and Mrs. Gan’s group was just not aware.

As they talked, he naturally walked to Sang Luo’s side.

Sang Luo asked in a low voice, “Are we making slingshots first?”

Shen Lie nodded and leaned slightly towards Sang Luo. He whispered, “Only a small part will be made. The children will take turns using them, and the rest will be left for now. We’ll make more later.”

As for what else to do, there’s no need to announce it.

Qin Fangniang saw the couple whispering to each other and couldn’t help but envy them. She looked at her own son, who was two years older than Alie, wondering if it was time to talk about marriage.

This world…

She could only think about it and dare not say it aloud.

Once they entered the county, Qin Fangniang and the others went their separate ways. Sang Luo, Shen Lie, and Chen Dashan went to buy cloth, while Shen Lie and Chen Dashan went to buy bowstrings. After they finished their purchases, they met not far from the medical hall.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were waiting for Sang Luo.

Naturally, the money for buying medicine was still going to be taken from Sang Luo’s side. This was something Shen Lie and Sang Luo had discussed the day before. They hadn’t prepared to split the money with the other families for a couple of reasons. Firstly, each family had depleted their savings buying grain recently, and they hadn’t stocked up on salt and medicine yet. Besides, the other families probably couldn’t come up with much money except for Mrs. Chen’s family. Secondly, the medicine was an ancestral recipe from Mrs. Chen’s maternal family. They didn’t want to reveal what medicine they were buying by asking the other families to contribute.

According to the old lady, this stuff could probably be found in the mountains, but it wasn’t the harvesting season yet. They needed to buy the first batch as a backup. Since they had money at home, Shen Lie and Sang Luo decided to buy it themselves and keep it for now without informing the other families.

Chen Dashan felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his nose. “Sister, I’ll hunt some animals later and sell them to make money. Let’s split the cost of the medicine in half.”

Sang Luo smiled and didn’t refuse, just saying, “Okay.”

The three entered the medical hall. They had only been here yesterday and had bought a lot of medicine. Whether it was the shopkeeper, the old doctor, or the medicine boy, they all recognized Sang Luo and Shen Lie.

Seeing them come early in the morning, everyone was a bit puzzled. Was there something wrong with the medicine they bought yesterday?

After exchanging greetings, they found out they were here to buy medicine again. The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “What medicine do you need today?”

This time, it was Chen Dashan who spoke up. “We want to buy a herb called mouse head grass.”

The shopkeeper was taken aback, and even the old doctor, who had just come into the medical hall, couldn’t help but come over. “Mouse head grass? What are you buying that for? While it is indeed a medicinal herb, if used improperly, it is highly toxic. It’s one of the most poisonous substances in the world, second only to chicken poison, and that’s referring to mouse head grass.”

So it was called mouse head grass in the medical hall?

Shen Lie smiled and explained, “To be honest, we want to obtain its toxicity. We are hunters, as you know, and we have to travel far and wide. We’re afraid we won’t be able to handle wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards if we encounter them. So we need to prepare some for ourselves for emergencies.”

Upon hearing that they were hunters, both the shopkeeper and the old doctor understood.

Many hunters used this stuff, and sometimes it was even used in the military. Applied to arrowheads, it wasn’t as deadly as chicken poison, but it was close.

The old doctor shook his head. “It’s better not to use it if you can avoid it. However, if you’re going deep into the mountains…”

He sighed. “It’s not wrong to bring some.”

People are harmless, but tigers have intentions to harm. It’s not wrong to prevent trouble before it happens.

The shopkeeper then asked how much they needed. Sang Luo asked the old doctor how much medicinal material they would need to make three or four jars of the finished product.

The old doctor’s face showed a slight surprise, and Sang Luo explained that it was a recipe from Mrs. Chen’s maternal family. They were making it for the first time.

The old doctor asked, “…Are you sure you can make it?”

After carefully asking Shen Lie and Chen Dashan again and hearing no problems, he let the shopkeeper fetch the medicine. Unable to help himself, he furrowed his brow and said, “Just for self-defense, do you need to buy so much?”

Sang Luo saw that the old doctor was kind-hearted and said, “We might stay in the mountains for quite a while. There are several skilled hunters among us. If we encounter wolves or other dangers, each person should have a bottle.”

The old doctor looked at her for a moment before nodding. With his hands behind his back, he walked back to his consulting table.

Sang Luo smiled, waited for the medicine boy to package the medicine, paid the silver, and then turned to the old doctor before leaving. She whispered, “Old sir, the price of grain in the county is likely to rise again. If you can find a way, stock up on some more.”

After saying this under the old doctor’s somewhat puzzled gaze, she smiled, bowed slightly, and left with Shen Lie and Chen Dashan.

Things were getting uneasy in the north. Sang Luo had said those words quietly just now. Only the old doctor had heard them.

The old doctor escorted them to the door and watched them leave. After a while, he turned and walked towards the shopkeeper’s side.

…

Shen Lie and the others returned home before noon. Sang Luo was busy sewing, while Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were busy with the arrow poison at Mrs. Chen’s house.

It wasn’t until near noon that they asked Mrs. Chen. Shi Dalang and Lu Erlang were taking a group of people to cut bamboo on a mountain not too far away to make slingshots.

When they went to take a look, they saw a group of children, among whom were three particularly small ones who were eagerly helping out.

When Shen Jin saw his older cousin, he instinctively shrunk behind Shen An, and Shen Yin and Shen Tie followed suit.

Shrinking like that, what could you hide from? It’s just that you guys are small and stand out more.

Shen Lie: “…”

Should I pretend I didn’t see it, or should I pretend I didn’t see it?

Shi Dalang and Lu Erlang couldn’t help but laugh when they saw them.

When they ran back to the village with a group of people, these three little ones were squatting in the village, looking around, and when they saw their group, their eyes lit up. They thought they could sneak into the back of the line when no one was looking.

Shi Dalang and Lu Erlang didn’t say anything, and the three of them just followed them silently. They didn’t look directly into their eyes anyway, so they just pretended that they couldn’t see their brothers.

It’s both pitiful and cute.

The children from the families also had a tacit understanding, and they could block the Shen Jin brothers from time to time. Lu Erlang and Shi Dalang couldn’t laugh or cry when they saw it, but they could also see that privately these children got along well.

Shen San and Mrs. Li weren’t decent folks, but Alie wasn’t about to argue with these little ones. So they just played dumb.

Seeing Shen Lie come over, Shen Jin and his brothers’ reactions made Shi Dalang and Lu Erlang find it hard not to laugh. Chen Dashan, who arrived a bit late, also figured out what was going on. Despite their dislike for Shen San and Mrs. Li, seeing Shen Jin and his brothers like this made them smile involuntarily.

Shen Lie: “…”

He glanced at Shen Jin and the others. When Shen Jin met his big brother’s gaze, he made a big effort to force out a smile just like when he was a child, obedient and cute.

But the big brother they used to call out to, none of them dared to call out to him anymore.

Big brother said he didn’t recognize their family anymore.

Shen An and Shen Ning also chuckled.

Shen Lie turned his head, too lazy to look, and checked the amount of bamboo material on the ground. “How much can we use?”

Lu Erlang said, “Three pieces, once we string them, they’ll be ready to use.”

Shen Lie took out a roll of bowstring he had bought and asked Chen Dashan to start stringing it.

The two of them had been tinkering with slingshots since they were young, and later they quietly made bows and arrows. They were very skilled, and now they were busy.

Shen Jin, Shen Yin, and Shen Tie, who had just been nervous, saw that their big brother didn’t say anything. Although he didn’t acknowledge them, he didn’t ask them to leave either, so their eyes lit up.

Shen Jin tugged on Shen An’s sleeve and grinned, showing his little teeth.

Shen An pushed his forehead disdainfully and wrinkled his nose, using his expression to say: Go laugh somewhere else; I’m not looking.

Shen Jin didn’t mind being pushed and was very happy, eagerly squeezed in behind a group of older children to watch his big brother make slingshots for everyone.

Slingshots!

They could hunt pheasants, they could hunt rabbits!

Of course, he wouldn’t have a slingshot. Shen Jin had heard that the Hu family had bought bowstrings, but maybe he could borrow someone else’s slingshot to try it out and learn.

Author’s Note:

“The most poisonous of all is chicken poison” – Han’s “Huainanzi”